(Eagle News) – No major untoward incident was reported during the first day of the transition to modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) and general community quarantine (GCQ), the Philippine National Police (PNP) reported on Saturday, May 16.
“The first day of transition to Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine and General Community Quarantine went ahead smoothly and orderly”, the PNP said in a statement.
Instead, the PNP is concerned with challenges on the enforcement of quarantine protocols during the incoming typhoon season.
PNP Spokesperson Bernard Batac noted that during the onslaught of Typhoon Ambo, the PNP’s “disaster response operations were made more difficult by some restrictions that must be followed to observe ECQ protocols.”
He said there were situations where police responders have to consider social distancing requirements during evacuation operations, especially of individuals who are suspected or probable COVID-19 cases.
“The weather factor will definitely change the operating environment of police frontliners in enforcing MECQ/GCQ rules and minimum health standards under the “new normal,” Batac stated.
Eagle News Service
